#jenkins and the talkers

[akilliosacheron]

well jenkins won my poll from a while ago so i guess its my time to talk about jenkins. lemme kinda go back to the beginning about it.

So, Season 12 is when i started being a blaseball fan. I officially on the site roll up to the canada moist talkers on the election sunday that the big siesta starts so im out here like what the fuck is going on while my pal corvoda is a decent bit more interested than i am at that point but i digress.

I miss the coffee cup and related events and i finally start showing my face in the discord, i think i got started on jenkins because i had stumbled across some of the blaseball rp twitters and wanted to join in, so i picked a blaseball player who didn't have a twitter at the time which was jesús and jenkins and i picked jenkins.

there is a message specifically telling me that jenkins doesnt get much love compared to other players on the team and lemme tell you, i took that PERSONALLY.

the first couple things i learned about jenkins was assorted stuff from their wiki. Flaming eye, gamer, and from greer's wiki i think i learned that jenkins and greer were.... something. relationship something.

after a while, i took a crack at making a jenkins interp that combined two other interps i had seen, big lizardy jenkins and mostly humanoid jenkins and ended up with salamander jenkins, eventually switching over to leopard gecko jenkins.

the thing that both entertained me and made me sad is that nothing ever really happened to jenkins. this player who i loved so much didnt recieve a stat buff till late expansion, despite being active with the same stat total since s4 election. sure they got crows mod but rarely did they play in bird weather just cuz of how weather works.

if i can be salty a little bit, i've always had a weird relationship with greer because of how much we focus on her. i know buff greer was funny and it definitely is super funny dont get me wrong but jenkins was a great pitcher until the stat creep hit. we still has to spend several elections on greer because she was a fan favourite. i feel in my heart that if it had been jenkins in that feedback there probably wouldnt have been as much of a push to get them back and idk that always scared me.

its not that jenkins was truly irredeemably bad at the time but compared to a player like greer? if we had to choose between greer or jenkins in something i know greer is winning and that does weird things to my brain sometimes idk i will digress again

jenkins being an active player vs kennedy trevino tyvi who are (were, in tyvi's case) fuckin dead is a wierd space to be in too. especially now that jenkins is on the tacos in new era i rotate between happiness that the tacos like them and deathly fear that theyre going to misconstrue something about them because jenkins is just so specifically Talkers-fied that you really had to be there for the jenkins conversations to understand jenkins' vibes. Its one of those things that like, jenkins was an s1 talker, they had all this time on the team so you just Got the vibes.

my sad thing about jenkins on the tacos? i feel like i cant talk about them anymore. my jenkins is talkers jenkins and i dont know the tacos and i am afraid. this is not my jenkins good anymore this is a whole other jenkins now and i think.... thats really the thing thats fucking me up about this new era. but at least jenkins is doing okay last i checked.

uhhhh lemme actually say some fun headcanons here... Jenkins has a math related degree in Orb Studies and can determine the exact salt content in food just by licking it. they eventually get a pet gecko named Adkins.

[polkadotpatterson]

Moist Talkers as text posts, part 21! Art by HetreaSky!

[feelingliketheworst]

I know no one will see this, but I do need to share my Baxter and Jenkins headcanons from Ghosts CBS. Cuz if the show isn't giving much, I'll just do it myself.

Warning, some heavy themes: Mentions of loss.

Baxter:

Not a big talker, I mean pretty canon already, but also off screen. This man has managed to not mutter a word for months on end.

Stressplays his fife

Actually could play more instruments, hates the fact he is stuck with a fife in the afterlife.

Had a wife, for some reason Carol reminds him of her.

Had a crush on Patience

Is actually not fully sure about marrying Carol, is worried that she may treat him like Pete.

Would get into James Bond if given the change to watch it. Might try to repeat quotes from the movies to flirt with Carol.

He and Sass were actually friends for a while, but eventually with Sass moving into the Manor and him into the shed, they more or less fell out with each other.

Jenkins:

His first name is Tobias, Nigel nicknamed him Toby during their dating days. He actually dislikes his first name, and only a few are aware of it. Mostly the older ghosts.

TW: Murder and Homophobia. Jenkins had a gay lover in England, but they got discovered. They murdered his lover in front of his eyes and let him live with the trauma.

Has huge abandonment issues, he cannot handle the idea of being left alone.

Excellent dancer, for his time period standards. Maybe learns some modern dances as well.

[april-is]

April 29, 2024: from Gaza, Summer 2006, Jasmine Donahaye

from Gaza, Summer 2006 Jasmine Donahaye

[...] On every tomb I'll build a cairn, and soon the whole graveyard will become a mound, and then a hill, and ten thousand mourners will bring their little stones — from Odessa and Baghdad, from Granada and Seville. Over the field where the dead are waiting, and the kibbutz, the nearest towns, Afula and Beit She’an, and finally Nazareth, the stones will rise and rise — in the Jewish quarter and the Arab quarter, piling up around the bell-towers and minarets, until the bell-tongues are stilled, the crowd chanting shema Yisrael will forget what it was they were called to mourn, and the muezzin will sing Allahu— and choke, but still they’ll come, the mourners until Mount Gilboa itself becomes a tomb, its rare black irises, its iridescent insects undone, and lop-eared goats will roam along a dusty track from ruined Gaza to Sidon, from Tiberias to the scattered remnants of Sdot Yam, so that once again there’s nothing to fight over but stony ground [...]

--

Read the whole poem here.

Today in: 

2023: June, Alex Dimitrov 2022: Poem to My Child, If Ever You Shall Be, Ross Gay 2021: Choi Jeong Min, Franny Choi 2020: Earl, Louis Jenkins 2019: Kul, Fatimah Asghar 2018: My Life Was the Size of My Life, Jane Hirshfield 2017: I Would Ask You To Reconsider The Idea That Things Are As Bad As They’ve Ever Been, Hanif Abdurraqib 2016: Tired, Langston Hughes 2015: Democracy, Langston Hughes 2014: Postscript, Seamus Heaney 2013: The Ghost of Frank O’Hara, John Yohe 2012: All Objects Reveal Something About the Body, Catie Rosemurgy 2011: Prayer, Marie Howe 2010: The Talker, Chelsea Rathburn 2009: There Are Many Theories About What Happened, John Gallagher 2008: bon bon il est un pays, Samuel Beckett 2007: Root root root for the home team, Bob Hicok 2006: Fever 103°, Sylvia Plath 2005: King Lear Considers What He’s Wrought, Melissa Kirsch

[tchotchkeshelves]

hello everyone, i made a which moist talker are you uquiz with a complimentary Lukewarm Sad Drabble™️  included in every result (all 13 of them). this took me a really long time to make, and I hope you enjoy it! 

cw for swears, loose descriptions of a mental breakdown, and a (skippable because i’m not cruel) lyrics question

[pinkspaceprincess]

realized I never posted these! I liked the idea of blaseball cards as playing cards so why not

[manias-wordcount]

Kinktober 2021 M.list

Day One: Blindfolded

The Eternity Game (Yae, Sara, Baal x Reader)

Day Two: Marking

Lips That Bite (Ban x Reader)

Day Three: Breeding 

Make Me, Give Me (Twilight Princess! Link x Reader)

Day Four: Cockwarming

Best Seat in the House (Laurent x Reader)

Day Five: Body Worship

Tainted Perfection (Overhaul x Reader)

Day Six: Threesome

Pass the Baton (Akechi x Reader x Akira)

Day Seven:  Exhibitism/Voyuerism

Invitation (Ningguang x Reader x Beidou)

Day Eight: Orgasm Delay/Denial

Spoiled Mess (Claude Faustus x Reader)

Day Nine: Clothed

(Un)dressed (Jumin Han x Reader)

Day Ten: The Morning After

Peace (Thoma x Reader)

Day Eleven: Choking

Angel’s Neck (Dabi x Reader)

Day Twelve: Mommy

Mommy (Pakunoda x Reader)

Day Thirteen: Size

Big and Bad (Itto Arataki)

Day Fourteen: Roleplay

Bad (Daichi Sawamura)

Day Fifteen: Face Fucking

Secret (Dazai Osamu)

Day Sixteen: Knifeplay

Angel’s Knife (Himiko Toga)

Day Seventeen: Sextoys

Just Business (Yusuke Kitagawa)

Day Eighteen: Free Use

Full Stop! (Noctis, Prompto, Ignis, Gladio)

Day Nineteen: Brat Taming

Cat and Mouse (Childe)

Day Twenty: Sleepy

Care (Sebastian Michaelis)

Day Twenty One: Gunplay

Gunfight (Sniper Mask)

Day Twenty Two: Overstimulation

Favorite (Makoto Edamura)

Day Twenty Three: Predator/Prey

Nothing Left (Dark Link)

Day Twenty Four: Sensation Play

The Lightest Touch (Howl Jenkins Pendragon)

Day Twenty Five: Phone Sex

Call Me (Chrollo Lucifer)

Day Twenty Six: Bondage

Needy, Greedy (Lisa)

Day Twenty Seven: Face-sitting

Behind Closed Doors (Tooru Oikawa)

Day Twenty Eight: Voice

Talker (Spike Spiegel)

Day Twenty Nine: Shower

Wet (Kiryu Kazuma)

Day Thirty: Cuckholding

Sharing (Kaeya, Diluc)

Day Thirty One: Service

Work (BNHA Heroes)

[waveridden]

happy blaseball anniversary here’s the full list of thirty-one players who have never been removed from active play for any reason, or as i like to call them, the “fifty damn years” club

Baby Doyle (Jazz Hands)

Baby Triumphant (Firefighters)

Basilio Mason (Tacos)

Chambers Simmons (Flowers)

Curry Aliciakeyes (Magic)

Denzel Scott (Spies)

Esme Ramsey (Shoe Thieves)

Helga Moreno (Lovers)

Jenkins Good (Moist Talkers)

Kennedy Loser (Crabs)

Leach Herman (Steaks)

Lou Roseheart (Firefighters)

Lowe Forbes (Jazz Hands)

Malik Destiny (Garages)

Miguel James (Sunbeams)

Oliver Mueller (Garages)

Orville Manco (Steaks)

Qais Dogwalker (Dale)

Rat Mason (Tacos)

Reese Clark (Spies)

Rivers Clembons (Dale)

Ronan Jaylee (Steaks)

Snyder Briggs (Shoe Thieves)

Stephanie Winters (Wild Wings)

Stevenson Heat (Fridays)

Stu Trololol (Shoe Thieves)

Swamuel Mora (Firefighters)

Thomas Dracaena (Millennials)

Velasquez Alstott (Shoe Thieves)

Walton Sports (Jazz Hands)

Wesley Poole (Firefighters)

[caligulalotus]

so as inspired by @leonstamatis ‘s post analyzing the gender and humanity demographics of the Boston Flowers, I decided to do the same for the Moist Talkers, since I consider myself a kind of honorary MT fan because of the amount of MT lore I’ve been exposed to and am attached to because of my MT fan friends. I’m putting it under the cut because it got way longer than I thought it would, and I didn’t even do a real analysis.

There are going to be three classifications of person here, human, modified human, and nonhuman. A few of these players were hard to pin down (Jesús Koch and Beans McBlase), so I classified alternate reality players as modified or nonhuman and “regular human and their animal pal” as human. As for pronouns, the categories are separated into primarily he/him, primarily she/her, and primarily they/them, any, no, or neopronouns. If a character falls into these categories also uses another set of pronouns, those are listed as well but they do not contribute to the overall count for that other set of pronouns because the math would’ve gotten way too confusing for me, sorry. I also didn’t do race demographics because they really aren’t discussed on the wiki, and as far as I could tell, a lot of human players don’t really have a race consensus.

Player Stats:

30 players since season 1

Current roster is 15 players, 5 pitchers and 10 batters

7 players have been lost through incineration

9 players have been lost through feedback

1 player has been lost through trades/blessings

(I know these numbers don’t add up, it’s mostly Eugenia Garbages fault)

OG Lineup: 14 players

Eugenia Garbage-She/they, nonhuman

Jesús Koch-He/they, human modified

Greer Lott-She/that, nonhuman

Jenkins Good-They/them, modified human

Mooney Doctor-She/they, human

Trevino Merritt-They/them, human until proven otherwise

Kennedy Alstott-They/them, human

Tyler Violet-She/they, nonhuman

Elijah Bates-He/him, nonhuman

Joe Voorhees-He/him, modified human

Richmond Harrison-He/him, nonhuman

Hobbs Cain-He/him, nonhuman

Ortiz Morse-He/him, modified human

Oliver Notarobot-He/they, nonhuman

Current Lineup: 15 players (previously listed players in bold)

Eugenia Garbage

Ziwa Mueller-They/them, nonhuman

Cedric Spliff-He/him, human

Commissioner Vapor-They/them, nonhuman

Jesús Koch

Beans McBlase-She/her, human

Alston Cervesa-He/him, human

Lachlan Shelton-He/him, human

Fish Summer-They/them, nonhuman

York Silk-He/him, human

Polkadot Patterson-They/them, human (sometimes modified human post squidish-ing, but for my own sanity, human)

Greer Lott

Jenkins Good

Beasley Gloom-He/him, nonhuman

Mooney Doctor

Incinerations: 7 players (previously listed players in bold)

Trevino Merritt

Kennedy Alstott 

Tyler Violet

Elijah Bates

Kiki Familia-She/they, nonhuman

Antonio Wallace-They/them, nonhuman

Workman Gloom-They/them, human

Feedback Swaps: 9 players (previously listed players in bold)

Joe Voorhees

Richmond Harrison

Lachlan Shelton

Hobbs Cain

Quack Enjoyable-They/he, nonhuman

Eugenia Garbage

Simon Hayley-Any, nonhuman

Ortiz Morse

Jaylen Hotdogfingers-She/her, human

Blessings/Trades: 1 player (previously listed players in bold)

Oliver Notarobot

Gender Demographics

Current Lineup: 15 players total

He/him-6, or 40%

1 player, Jesús Koch, also uses they/them pronouns

She/her-4, or about 26%

3 players, Mooney Doctor, Greet Lott, and Eugenia Garbage, also use they/them or that/that pronouns

Neutral (they/them), no, neopronouns, or any-5, or about 33%

1 player, Greer Lott, uses neopronouns (that/that) but was previously accounted for

Past and Present Moist Talkers: 30 players total

He/him-13, or about 43%

3 players, Jesús Koch, Oliver Notarobot, and Quack Enjoyable, also use they/them pronouns

She/her-7, or about 23%

5 players, Eugenia Garbage, Greer Lott, Moony Doctor, Tyler Violet, and Kiki Familia also use they or that pronouns 

Neutral (they/them), no, neopronouns, or any-10, or about 33%

9 of these players use exclusively they/them pronouns

1 player, Simon Hayley, uses any pronouns

1 player, Greet Lott, uses neopronouns (that/that) but she was previously accounted for

No players do not use pronouns

Human Demographics

Current Lineup: 15 players total

Human-8, or about 53%

5 of these players use he/him, or 62.5% of human players

2 of these players use she/her, or 25% of human players. Mooney Doctor also uses they/them.

1 of these players uses they/them, or 12.5% of human players

Modified human-2, or 25%

1 of these players uses he/him pronouns, Jesús Koch. He also uses they/them pronouns. Ths comes out to 50%.

1 of these players uses they/them pronouns, or 50% of modified human players

Nonhuman-6, or 62.5%

1 of these players uses he/him, or about 16.6% of nonhuman players

2 of these players use she/her. Both players also use either they/them or that/that. This comes out to about 33.3% of nonhuman players

3 of these players use they/them, or 50% of nonhuman players

Past and Present Moist Talkers: 30 players total

Human-11, or about 36.6%

4 of these players use he/him, or about 36.3% of human players

3 of these players use she/her pronouns. Of these players, 1, Mooney Doctor, also uses they/them. This comes out to about 27.2% of human players.

4 of these players use they/them pronouns, or about 36.3% of human players

Modified human-4, or about 13.3%

3 of these players use he/him. Of these players, 1, Jesús Koch, also uses they/them. This comes out to 75% of modified human players.

1 of these players uses they/them, or 25% of modified human players

Nonhuman-15, or 50%

6 of these players use he/him. Of these players, 2, Quack Enjoyable and Oliver Notarobot use they/them as well. This comes out to 40% of nonhuman players.

4 of these players use she/her pronouns. All of these players also use they/them or that/that pronouns as well. This comes out to about 26.6% of nonhuman players

4 of these players use they/them pronouns, or about 26.6% of nonhuman players

1 of these players, Simon Hayley, uses any pronouns, or about 6.6% of nonhuman players

So I am not super involved in Moist Talkers culture or lore development. I’m not in the discord, I’m not a fan on the website, I only know as much as I know about the Moist Talkers because all of my Blaseball friends are MT fans and I follow a lot of MT fans, and you all did good at getting me attached to your characters through the wiki. Because of all this, I’m not going to make a ton of commentary on what you should do with this information, or how you should take all this. I’ll just sum up the data I have. Throughout the Moist Talkers’ time as a Blaseball team, half of your players have been nonhuman, and most of those nonhuman players have used he/him. The nonhuman characters also have a pretty varied dynamic, lots of different types of not humans, but a lot of them have fish/ocean qualities. That fish thing is also why I was hesitant to include Polkadot Patterson in the human category, as I sometimes see their squiddish modifier give them some nonhuman flavoring. Generally, the Moist Talkers do a lot of fish and ocean stuff. Gender wise, most of your players have also used he/him, but you also have had a pretty good number of gnc players in your time as a team. Generally, you are kind of lacking in the she/her character department, though not she/her using humans as much as modified humans or even nonhumans. You also don’t have many neopronoun or any pronouns using players (only one of your players falls into each of these categories. Greer Lott uses she/that and Simon Hayley uses any). Take all this info as you will, incorporate it into your future character and world building, or don’t I’m not gonna get too into it simply because I’m not “technically” a MT fan.

[storyofwhoiam]

DISC Assessment Test: Boomer Jenkins

Type I

The I Personality Style is not afraid to be the centre of attention. They are enthusiastic, optimistic, talkative, persuasive, impulsive and emotional. This personality type will trust others naturally, truly enjoys being around others, and functions best when around people and working in teams.

They are great encourages and motivators of others. They keep environments positive with their enthusiasm and positive sense of humour.

The I Personality Style is likely not good with detail. They are more concerned with people and popularity than with tangible results and organisation. It's also possible that they are not great listeners, and may give the impression of waiting to speak instead of truly listening to what someone else is saying. In some cases, gestures and facial expressions are overly used.

Since acceptance and approval by others is the main desire of I Personality Types, rejection is their biggest fear.

The I DISC Style is motivated by the approval, flattery, praise, popularity or acceptance by others. They enjoy freedom from too many rules or regulations, and gravitate towards a friendly and fun environment. They excel most when they can be the talker, the presenter, the one who builds rapport or works in teams, but needs another person to handle the details.

The I Personality Type desires acceptance and social esteem. They enjoy being recognised for their creativeness, ability to motivate and influence, and especially for their sense of humour when possible. They want to be around others and desire for environments to be positive and even fun, both at work and socially.

[akilliosacheron]

i have a complex about not disliking blaseball characters for any lore related reasons, if theyre lored to be 'unlikeable' or are gradually disliked by a team and i feel like its odd to be like that 🤔

like, you were given this guy and maybe they arent good at the game but someone decided that they were unredeemable (exaggeration) and then it became popular and its like... i dunno

i also have a complex about players who are bad at the game and get ignored and i accidentally went on a rant about it in the tags for yall eho know moist talkers players lol

[polkadotpatterson]

Moist Talkers as text posts, part 20! Art by HetreaSky!

[april-is]

April 29, 2023: June, Alex Dimitrov

June Alex Dimitrov

There will never be more of summer than there is now. Walking alone through Union Square I am carrying flowers and the first rosé to a party where I’m expected. It’s Sunday and the trains run on time but today death feels so far, it’s impossible to go underground. I would like to say something to everyone I see (an entire city) but I’m unsure what it is yet. Each time I leave my apartment there’s at least one person crying, reading, or shouting after a stranger anywhere along my commute. It’s possible to be happy alone, I say out loud and to no one so it’s obvious, and now here in the middle of this poem. Rarely have I felt more charmed than on Ninth Street, watching a woman stop in the middle of the sidewalk to pull up her hair like it’s an emergency—and it is. People do know they’re alive. They hardly know what to do with themselves. I almost want to invite her with me but I’ve passed and yes it’d be crazy like trying to be a poet, trying to be anyone here. How do you continue to love New York, my friend who left for California asks me. It’s awful in the summer and winter, and spring and fall last maybe two weeks. This is true. It’s all true, of course, like my preference for difficult men which I had until recently because at last, for one summer the only difficulty I’m willing to imagine is walking through this first humid day with my hands full, not at all peaceful but entirely possible and real.

--

(June is my birthday month and also the best month. Sorry, I don’t make the rules.)

More like this:   » Steps, Frank O'Hara   » After Work, Richard Jones   » Dolores Park, Keetje Kuipers   » Awaking in New York, Maya Angelou   » A Step Away From Them, Frank O'Hara

Today in: 

2022: Poem to My Child, If Ever You Shall Be, Ross Gay 2021: Choi Jeong Min, Franny Choi 2020: Earl, Louis Jenkins 2019: Kul, Fatimah Asghar 2018: My Life Was the Size of My Life, Jane Hirshfield 2017: I Would Ask You To Reconsider The Idea That Things Are As Bad As They’ve Ever Been, Hanif Abdurraqib 2016: Tired, Langston Hughes 2015: Democracy, Langston Hughes 2014: Postscript, Seamus Heaney 2013: The Ghost of Frank O’Hara, John Yohe 2012: All Objects Reveal Something About the Body, Catie Rosemurgy 2011: Prayer, Marie Howe 2010: The Talker, Chelsea Rathburn 2009: There Are Many Theories About What Happened, John Gallagher 2008: bon bon il est un pays, Samuel Beckett 2007: Root root root for the home team, Bob Hicok 2006: Fever 103°, Sylvia Plath 2005: King Lear Considers What He’s Wrought, Melissa Kirsch

[jmsa1287]

Best Films of 2018

This list may seem a few months late but I consider the movie season to stretch from January through February of the following year — or until after the Academy Awards ceremony is held. This usually overlaps with the slate of new films debuting at Sundance and other early festivals but that's just the way Hollywood works; awards season is truly never over.

Though movie studios are still focusing on superhero blockbusters and films based on existing intellectual property, 2018 offered a number of original gems among some bona fide hits. Films like the atmospheric sci-fi thriller "Annihilation" and Maggie Gyllenhaal's tour de force of a performance in "The Kindergarten Teacher" just missed my top 10 of 2018. While most of the movies in my list didn't make much of a splash at the box office, they each have a distinct point of view, tone and push the boundaries of what moviemaking can be. From a film shot entirely on an iPhone to a touching story about queer friendship, 2018 was a diverse and solid year for film.

Below are my top 20 favorite movies of 2018.

20. “Burning,” Lee Chang-dong

19. “Happy as Lazzaro,” Alice Rohrwacher

18. “The House that Jack Built,” Lars von Trier

17. “Juliet, Naked,” Jesse Peretz

16. “BlacKkKlansman,” Spike Lee

15. “Shoplifters,” Hirokazu Kore-eda

14. “If Beale Street Could Talk,” Barry Jenkins 

13. “First Man,” Damien Chazelle 

12. “The Kindergarten Teacher,” Sara Colangelo

11. “Annihilation,” Alex Garland

10. “Unsane,” Steven Soderbergh

"Unsane" is Steven Soderbergh's first iPhone movie. He followed this psychological thriller with "High Flying Bird" on Netflix earlier this month, a snappy basketball movie about the behind the scenes action starring Andre Holland ("Moonlight, "The Knick"). For "Unsane," Soderbergh sets his iPhone 7 Plus on "The Crown" star Claire Foy, who plays Sawyer, a troubled woman who is involuntarily institutionalized. Soderbergh makes the best use of the iPhone, making "Unsane" feel claustrophobic and disorienting to match Sawyer's state of mind. Foy gives a great performance of a woman on the edge, making this little-seen flick so much better than it ought to be.

09. “Vox Lux," Brady Corbet

"Vox Lux" is not a good movie. It's a fascinatingly bizarre one, though. It's the kind of strange concoction that has stuck with me since seeing it a few months ago. It's a twisted version of "A Star is Born" when a young singer Celest (played by Raffey Casssidy as a teen and Natalie Portman as an adult) survives a school shooting and is transformed into a mega pop star a la Lady Gaga. Every choice here is so strange — from a Willem Deafoe narration to having Cassidy play Celest's daughter. And then there's Portman's mind-boggling performance (The New York Times' film critic Manohla Dargis put it best, writing that Portman has an "accent that sounds like it's been lifted from a New York cabby in an old Hollywood comedy." The last musical number is terrible and the pop songs that we're to believe propelled Celest into stardom are quite bad (they were written by Sia but sound like tracks she never planned to release). Director Brady Corbet (an actor best known for his role in "Mysterious Skin" and his directorial debut "The Childhood of a Leader") makes a huge swing with "Vox Lux" and attempts to say something grand about our culture, pop music and tragedy but it's ultimately a can't-look-away-misfire. The kind of disaster I'll happily re-watch again and again.

08. "Suspiria," by Luca Guadagnino

Like "Vox Lux," Luca Guadagnino's take on the cult classic "Suspiria" aims high. But unlike Bradly Corbet's film, Guadagnino's remix of Dario Argento iconic 1977 giallo horror film is successful. With a running time of 153 minutes, the 2018 "Suspiria" is only spiritually connected to the original, expanding on Argento's "Three Mothers" trilogy. Guadagnino smartly ignores the original's Technicolor gore and its iconic soundtrack from Goblin, making his version of the movie dull grey and enlists Radiohead front man Thom Yorke for its spooky music. "Suspiria" also also features Dakota Johnson's best performance ever and another stellar turn from Tilda Swinton. Guadagnino channels Rainer Werner Fassbinder, adding texture to why "Suspiria" is set in 70s Germany and making great use of the political climate at the time and a coven of witches.

07. "Lean on Pete," Andrew Haigh

Out filmmaker Andrew Haigh's follow up to "45 Years" is a quiet road trip movie about a boy and his horse. Charlie Plummer gives one of the best performances of the year as Charley — a dirt poor teen who finds solace in taking care of an aging racehorse named Lean on Pete. The film shifts major gears after Charley is hit with tragedy in the first third of the film, sparking him to run away with his new animal friend in search of his aunt across the country. "Lean on Pete" isn't as sentimental as one may assume; it's a dark film that rests on Plummer's shoulders, proving he's one of the strongest young actors of his generation.

06. "Eighth Grade," Bo Burnham

Comedian and YouTube star Bo Burnham's directorial debut "Eighth Grade" is a horror movie. Starring the sensational Elsie Fisher as middle school student Kayla, "Eighth Grade" puts the experience of a young teen under a magnifying class, amplifying every awkward moment and pump those tense scenes with the kind of intense energy one would feel while watching slasher flick. But "Eighth Grade" is ultimately beautiful movie that tracks 13-year-old Kayla as she navigates her last year before entering high school. Burnham captures the essence of being a middle schooler and not for once plays Kayla's experience for cheap laughs. The things she's interested in — especially vlogging — are treated with respect and dignity, making "Eighth Grade" a lovely and felt experience.

05. "A Star is Born," Bradley Cooper

Bradley Cooper's remake of a "A Star is Born" was one of the most exciting cultural moments of 2018. From the memes to the actual film — when the moment hits that Cooper is actually pulling it off — this tragic Hollywood story, starring a marvelous Lady Gaga, was one of the best movies to think and talk about. It also happens to be very good.

04. "Roma," Alfonso Cuarón

For how technically impressive "Roma" is (that cinematography! The sound!) Alfonso Cuarón's memory piece packs an emotional punch. Cuarón focuses on Cleo (breakout star Yalitza Aparicio), a nanny for a family in 70s Mexico City. Based on Cuarón's real life nanny from that time, the filmmaker puts Cleo's experience and story on a huge scale. Her small story is treated like a war epic. "Roma" is why movies exist, an achievement in storytelling and cinematic scope.

03. "The Favourite," Yorgos Lanthimos

Yorgos Lanthimos pulls of a feat with "The Favourite" a wickedly funny movie about power, women and sex. Its three stars Olivia Colman, Emma Stone and Rachel Weisz give incredible performances each on a different wavelength. Lanthimos's touch makes "The Favourite" slightly off kilter, thanks to fisheye lenses, modern music and dance. There hasn't been such a twisted period piece since Sofia Coppola's 2006 masterpiece "Marie Antoinette."

02. "Can You Ever Forgive Me?" Marielle Heller

"Can You Ever Forgive Me?" probably has one of the worst trailers of 2018. It suggests is a run-of-the-mill Oscar bait movie with comedic genius Melissa McCarthy making a blatant attempt to Get Serious. But Marielle Heller's film is anything but that, considering it earned just three Academy Award nominations (McCarthy for Best Actress, Richard E. Grant for Best Supporting Actor and Nicole Holofcener and Jeff Whitty for Best Adapted Screenplay) and isn't expected to take home any. Nevertheless, the story about biographer-turned-scammer Lee Israel turns out to be a touching story about queer friendship. It's a specific New York City 90s story that's heartfelt and beautiful. Indeed, McCarthy as Israel is wonderful as is Grant, who plays gay British smooth talker Jack Hock. "Can You Ever Forgive Me?" is the kind of movie that is currently overlooked but will go on to become a cult favorite.

01. "Hereditary," Ari Aster

"Hereditary" is hands down the scariest movie of 2018. It's hardly a horror movie, although it's classified as such since supernatural moments occur. But it's the most stressful, intense and twisted family drama in some time. At the center of this film is Toni Collette's masterful performance as Annie Graham, a mother dealing with the loss of her own mother and how that sets off a chain of events that uproots her reality. The rabbit hole she goes down is — well there's really no other way to put this — extremely fucked up. She's put through the ringer and Collette is fully committed here as "Heredity" explores what it's like to be a mother, deals with loss, grief, tragedy and familial bounds that we've been taught to be unbreakable. "Heredity" asks what if those bonds somehow did snap? The answer is that all hell breaks loose.

[tkmedia]

Frank Warren on Joe Joyce's Recent Win, Sheeraz, Essuman, Adeleye, More

WE HAD, QUITE literally, a banging night at Wembley’s SSE Arena last Saturday, with high skills, big bombs and true grit aplenty across a hugely entertaining evening. It was truly magical to have the fans back in big numbers and those that joined us at Wembley created such a special atmosphere in support of the fighters, who I am sure appreciated it, as did I. It was like a proper old school fight night all the way through, with the vast majority taking their seats early and enjoying every fight. There was lots to enjoy leading up to the climax of Joe Joyce getting the job done against the incredibly tough Carlos Takam and, in the process, securing his spot as No.1 contender for the WBO world heavyweight title. Inevitably, these things take time to come around, so the plan is to keep Big Joe busy and have him out again in October against an opponent of a similar high calibre. What was also pleasing to note was how the fans have clearly taken Joe to their hearts and the support for him inside the arena was something to behold. We all know he can fight and is capable of reaching the top, but what he is now showing us is more of himself as a person and letting his personality emerge to the public. He is definitely one of the nice guys of the sport and I feel certain that more and more people will get behind him as his shot at a world title closes in. Joe didn’t have it all his own way against Takam, with most of the rounds being close and the veteran Frenchman landing a few bombs along the way. It is the way Joe shrugs off such heavy artillery that is really remarkable and he barely takes a backward step. I remain convinced that we have a special talent on our hands with Hamzah Sheeraz, with the super welterweight putting on a clinical performance to defeat the Spaniard Ezequiel Gurria in five rounds. Hamzah employs such a compact, effective style and his assets will only be enhanced by the work he is putting in over in Los Angeles. He is putting in the graft and the sacrifice to make a success of himself and this will serve him well with the big fights that are clearly in the pipeline. Ekow Essuman also delivered the goods with a superb display to get the better of the British and Commonwealth welterweight champion Chris Jenkins in their title clash. Everyone knows Chris possesses ability and experience in abundance, as well as incredible fortitude and bravery given that he fought on with a rib injury sustained early on. This should not detract from Ekow’s achievement and he applied a big finish in the eighth round to take the belts home with him. The highly-skilled Nottingham man now has a big target on his back and will willingly accept big challenges. Much the same can be said for our super bantamweight battleship Chris Bourke, who barely dropped a round in defeating James Beech jr over 10 rounds in defence of his WBC International Silver title. Chris, who is now 10-0 as a pro, wants to keep stepping it up and I can envisage a barnstorming clash with Brad Foster a little further down the line when it has been built up a bit more. That will be one to look forward to and hopefully Brad will be in possession of the European title when they do get it on. Talking of mouth-watering matches being built up over time, Sam Noakes jumping in with Mark Chamberlain in a lightweight blockbuster takes some beating. Sam made it seven out of seven stoppage finishes on Saturday and the fact that both he and Mark are already fielding questions over a potential battle speaks volumes for the progress of the two youngsters. I don’t wish to dampen any enthusiasm, but this isn’t a fight for the near future because they both deserve it to be as big as it can be. We have no problem in putting our fighters in together, but we need to maximise the occasions and, in turn, the rewards for the boxers. Keep talking about it, keep asking them the questions and keep building up the demand. It will happen if they both keep winning and the calls for it to be made become impossible to ignore. Our heavyweight talent David Adeleye moved to 7-0 with a fourth round stoppage of Mladen Manev to top up his experience – and this is the ingredient he needs more and more of. Young heavyweights operate under the burden of huge expectations when what they really need is time to learn the ropes. Big D is a big talker and he was quick to talk up fights with people much further down the track, which upped the scrutiny of his own performances. We will move him along at the right pace and get him to where he needs to be before raising the risk level. We now also have fellow heavy George Fox on our books – who moved to 4-0 on Saturday – and we have a similar job on our hands in progressing him towards title contention. There were two other impressive performances at Wembley that came from welterweight Micky Burke jr, who scored a second successive KO win, and a Queensberry debut for the richly talented lightweight Charles Frankham, who made light of a two-year ring absence to record a convincing points victory. All of our fighters enhanced their prospects on Saturday and offered a snapshot of the huge reserve of young talent we are currently nurturing towards successful futures. Sport, in particular boxing, has never been an exact science and is impossible to accurately predict at the best of times when it comes to potential champions, but I am extremely confident that a multitude of world champions will eventually emerge from our burgeoning crop of hungry young hopefuls. Read the full article

[survivor-ingary]

Episode 2 - "I DON'T WANT THE MYSTERY MOUSE-CA-TOOL BESTIE" - Ellie

At the tribal, Ping was voted out of the Pendragon Tribe nearly unamimously. Tribal immunity for this round is Pictionary.

I bet all these bitches know i voted for Keith and now they are going to come kill me in my sleep if i die i blame dylan

yass round 2 i either think im in the best position on this tribe or theyre all secretly coming for me thats all

Tribal went as well as I expected it to go. No major drama. It seems like Keith is in real trouble if we do go to tribal again though which would put me in a very tricky spot. For now, though, I will be trying my best in the upcoming challenge. The problem is, however, timezones and schedules. Jon is going to be our drawer, but he can only do it tonight or in the early afternoon tomorrow which I will not be there for. Additionally, Keith is asleep so we have no idea what his schedule is going to be so we basically had to schedule the challenge without him. And Nya could only do right before the deadline tomorrow which Jon cannot do. I hate this for us, truly. I just hope that Moth and I can rub our brain cells together for this one so that we can pull out a win. OR somehow the other tribes fail horribly. On the bright side, I am finally starting to catch up on Duolingo exercises. They're a lot easier than I thought, but it is still going to be tedious af to save up enough coins for some of the higher end products at the shop. As a final note, I am going to work with Nya in the long term as we promised each other to. Hopefully that actually works out. Time to actually be loyal and be a hero this time around. Need to try something different.

If we lose this challenge, I will be very upset. We went so hard on this challenge!!! I believe that we can at least get second place, but I don't know how crazy the other tribes are. So, let's see what goes on

Ayyyyy soooooooo looks like the four, Colin, me, Ava, and Brayden are officially in an alliance!? I’m really hyped to be working with everybody and already have sights on who should go if we have to go to tribal 👀 but like I’m gonna feel so bad if we go to tribal and I orchestrate a whole plan to take someone out I gotta do it when I’m not in my feels and the planets aren’t fucking with my emotions too heavy. But go alliance ! This means I’ll be able to stay safe until hopefully a merge and hopefully we can avoid a tribe swap till then which I get those vibe from it !! But I’ll be here to survive two more tribals just in case which is pretty rad. Other then that hopefully me offering to draw doesn’t end us up in the bottom and we can keep killing ! But anyways that is it as off know hopefully I have a lot more coins tomorrow morning and I get hit the hat shop bright and motherfucking early.

Just got asked to be apart of an alliance <33333 the besties in the group trust me which maybe ain't the right move but for now we gotta love the bonding. exciting!!!

YAY FOR ROUND 2! Okay, so I meet once again with the Hat Shop and... third times the charm! Except,,, the charm is getting nothing AGAIN lmao I'm not complaining though, still got that extra vote :P I stayed up at 1 AM for this challenge, and I honestly think our team popped off. Anastasia was guessing a ton, and Riley was amazing at drawing real quick! I have a relatively good feeling about our performance, so I hope I wake up to the news of our tribe being immune :D

so yesterday I set myself on a mission to get an alliance. I wanted Ava + Brayden + Toph + me as a majority alliance. it was our day off from tribal so I thought it was the perfect day to do it!! I talked to Brayden about it first because he's the person I feel the most comfortable with, and then after a lot of coordination and careful communication I was able to pull it together!! I think the most important thing when making alliances is making everyone feel like they're a big part in it. So I was careful to ask each person how they feel about the others, about the game, and made a point to say that I wanted to work with them specifically. Some may call that a little manipulative, but I wanna make sure that I'm an essential part of the alliance!! i need everyone to feel like they need/want me there.

all of this happening so soon into the game is a testament to how aggressive I'm playing this time around. I usually like to lay low and just rely solely on my social game in the start, but I'm trying this out to establish myself early on! I wanted to play the tribe leader and I think I'm doing that in a smart and subtle way!!

so yes now we have a 4 person majority alliance named "duolingo owl hate club" because fuck that guy. I think we're the 4 most active and present people on the tribe so it's only natural for us to work together, but I think it's definitely worth noting that I was the one that was pulling the strings here.

We just did the pictionary challenge, I have a good feeling about it!! Toph was an amazing artist, and if we win, all credit rightfully goes to him!! I think the guessers also did great of course, but like come on, the artist has to be the mvp. I'm really hoping we pull through!! I don't mind going to tribal, but I genuinely don't wanna vote anyone out yet. I'm fine just playing the game in a precautionary way. I know I'm in a great position if we do go to tribal, but it's always preferred that we don't go.

Everyone else on my tribe: doing the challenge and kicking ass

Me: I’m sleep

Riley (Tumblr has once again chosen violence so only the first 10 get banners 🥲)

I think our challenge went pretty well! My team were good guessers. Feeling like I've established some Integrity now. Hope it keeps me safe later!

Toph Soooooo we finished the challenge with 32 points and like wig !! I was a quick as drawer for 32pts expect when my internet lagged, but still ! I think we whooped some ass and if we do go to tribal I know it won’t be me going, thanks to Duolingo owl hate club but I’m also worried same could have and advantage because they seem pretty kean on learning a lot in like 3 hours and then tried to cover that statement to not seem so threatening but like babs s a huge threat too apparently they love Duolingo and know 5 laugnes ? This is from brayden but If so go babs ! That’s absolutely iconic for real Life but fucking scary in this game ! I gotta be buddy buddy with them so hopefully if they do have something it won’t be them going home first and it will be Ava. But I’m thinking we might get second place again unless someone is a fucking wizard at this.

Dennis hmm i think we did well enough in the challenge to not see tribal tomorrow but who knows i guess we shall find out tn

the way ellie was so on top of stuff yesterday only to oversleep the challenge makes me giggle maybe shes freaking out about it which makes me also giggle but i dont think its really a big deal

anastasia asked me to call yesterday and i was like sure lets talk but it is damn near impossible to hold a conversation with her idk i tried BUT she did tell me “yeah i just got off a call with ellie” im like i see. she says shes down to work with ellie but that quickly switched from ellie being ~experienced~ but good to know ellie is also playing hard. anastasia also mentioned that she talks to riley a fair amount who i still have yet to connect to well. but dat makes me think ellie is def talking to riley too miss debate team is definitely a talker. but good on her for the social game i guess

kenneth keeps being like haha we’re the same person and im like yeah👁 i bet we are👁

i just wanna win and not think about tribal just keep it slow and chill for now keep learnin my welsh i guess

Ava Second challenge was Pictionary and I had a ton of fun playing. The tea is: toph did a great job. He was pretty vocal about not being a great artist but really I think he did great. However, Babs was super inactive yesterday and ~too late~ said they were a great artist and should've been picked to draw. It was kind of like.... k babs thanks for the belated "help". They did do great guessing which scored a point in my book. Brayden was supposed to play but last minute logged off without saying anything so we did the challenge without him :/ sorta a bummer. Anyway the lack of participation from Sam is kind of popping off so we'll see where that leads them... Overall a fun game and fingers crossed we did well!

Moth I think we did okay at the challenge. Today I am dying from the heatwave so I’m not thinking too straight! Stay cool everyone

Ellie So yesterday Anastasia and I called for about an hour!!! I’d say we’re definitely way closer, she’s someone I really wanna work with although the idea of her and Brayden eventually being on the same tribe is kinda scary cause I know how close they are. Still she’s so fun to talk to and I just love her energy so much!

Pictionary challenge results: Jenkins Tribe wins with Penadragon second, Hatter Tribe has to go to tribal council on the following day.

Ava Well well well seems our bob ross, toph, didn't pull through (y'all think babs would've pulled it out for us or slept through our challenge like they said they almost did?) I can't wait for tribal. I'm in it for the drama. I'm hashtag voting Sam off - didn't even bother to be apart of our challenge and not too sure they've even been online for a full 24 hours. Weed out the weak.....

Anastasia

Brayden https://imgur.com/n60Lz0c

guys i dont know what to do someone help me out

Dennis i hope damn brayden gets the boot

Raffy Woo! We don't have to go to tribal again! We stan!

Ellie So I figured I’d go idol hunting today cause the shop was about to close and I just wanted to see what had been bought and what possible hats there were, I see that there’s a hat I have enough for that hasn’t been bought and I decide fuck it let’s get it

APPARENTLY ITS SOMETHING THAT IM NOT ALLOWED TO KNOW WHAT IT IS OR HOW TO USE IT YET???? THEY SAID ILL FIND OUT ABOUT IT LATER

I DONT WANT THE MYSTERY MOUSE-CA-TOOL BESTIE

Sam Well you see. I like all my tribe people. And I think we did real good on that music video! So, I think rather than voting anyone else off, I think I should just vote myself off if that is possible! Ahhh

Babs So sad to see Sam not only go but go through what they're going through :( same w Toph :( they all seem so lovely

Keith Not sure if i submitted a confession after the last tribal. But if I didnt here it is.

Happy I made it out of that tribal. I had raffy backing me with whom I played. Last time we played. We were at odds. We didnt work together but whats worse that we were against each other. It was either him or me goin out. Hopefully thats the past n we can work together. I jus need to keep things calm n show that Im not here itching to make big moves. So they dont feel threatened by me. N its easy cause right now. I havnt made that kind og bond with anyone on my tribe. To even think of such moves. Lets see what round two holds for me.

Colin so uh

we lost! :(

I was really bummed tbh. Like I thought we did well but circumstances with the challenge were just really unfortunate, from conflict about who wanted to be the artist to people disappearing the moment the challenge started, I think we did well despite all of that. Except we did kinda get stomped anyway. Oh well!! The game moves on. Tribal has to happen.

Initially I was gonna push for Babs, just because I feel like I don't wanna attach myself to them too early on. I've seen how much of a bitter player they can be, and lets just say I'm not the most loyal ally to have. however! 9 minutes after we lost, Ava announces to our alliance that she's voting Sam. I wasn't surprised, Sam has been the one not really pulling their weight. But I had some good connections with her!! we both did colorguard and shes so sweet and easy to talk to. I was really conflicted for a little bit, debating on whether or not to actually push for Babs. I think brayden sensed my hesitance but we both knew there was nothing really I could do to stop Sam from being the vote. At first tribal, the initial name always spreads like wildfire.

However, my mess was stopped abruptly by Sam asking to be voted out. welp!! okay then!! babs stays i guess!! i'm not too bothered. I'll never turn down an easy vote hehe.

Pretty sure there's a swap tonight. I'm kinda scared of that

uwu

Brayden

i almost forgot to upload this but dont worry i just remembered

Colin screams

Toph So we’re going to tribal in 20 and all I have to say right now is if there is a tribe swap after I’m gonna so scared but I ducking called I had a vibe and it was right that’s what is gonna win me this game trusting my intuition. I’m holding on now and gonna be the biggest comp beast next challenge in case I get fucked on this swap !!!! Or at least if it is a swap 🤔

Riley I don't know what this announcement's gonna be I'm worriedddd... Ginny said it probably means we're swapping teams but I don't wannaaaa I like our team.

Toph Sam self sacrificing made this the easiest vote ever and me being safe is a plus I guess 😎